HAW HILL Project

Since 2023 LAG members have been working with Lincoln Bishop University Archaeology staff and students on their annual Summer School at Haw Hill near Swanpool and Hartsholme in Lincoln. The excavations have revealed evidence of a complex multi-phased occupation including the remains of a mediaeval hospital on the site.

Whilst the area today is now part of a rapidly growing suburb of Lincoln, in the past it was part of the River Witham flood plain away from the old city of Lincoln in an area that was frequently flooded and marshy. Indeed, the derivation of the place name Hartsholme is “Hjort’s island of land, raised land amidst the marsh”.

To compliment the archaeological work carried out by Lincoln Bishop University LAG members are starting a project to understand the site in the context of its landscape history and to discern why the place was chosen for a mediaeval hospital. We also hope to understand how the site was linked to the historic city of Lincoln and the wider area.

The LAG Haw Hill project is in the early stages of development and will involve members working to research documentary evidence and maps relating to the site.

 

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​E.J. Niemann (1813-1876) Lincoln from the Holmes (The Collection Usher Gallery)